Heavens Beloved
by Foramen
Summary: If there is one thing people in Namimori village fear, that's the punishment of the Heavens god: the drought. Because drought means no food, because drought means that one girl must be sacrificed to said god. Tsuna never cared much, but what happens when his dear sister, Kyoko, gets chosen to be Ieyasus, the heavens god bride? [G27]
1. The most beautiful one

► 1: - The Most Beautiful One

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Many years ago, During the first drought, a great Shaman appeared, bringing a divine revelation with her.

The words of the God of Heaven: Ieyasu.

She said:

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"_Every time the Heaven god anger befalls on you,_

_Rain shall stop falling and the sun will start burning._

_You'll be punished with an everlasting drought_

_that will be removed only by sending as a sacrifice_

_the most beautiful one in the village._

_From the place where Heaven and Earth meet,_

_the beautiful one shall depart._

_To the shining land of the gods where Heaven awaits_"

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At first, there were only few that believed her words.

But the drought had been going on for a long time and it didn't seem anywhere near to his end.

Eventually, the villagers, driven by desperation, decided to try with the sacrifice.

The most beautiful girl in the village got sacrificed in the place where Heaven and Earth met.

The next day, the heat diminished and rain fell.

From that day onward, the people of Namimori village kept on sacrificing the most beautiful girl every time a drought came.

Each time, the day after, it never failed to rain.

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"_The God's... they are really cruel_"

* * *

A small girl, no older than ten, was running through the woods, the hems of her kimono in her hands so she could move better. Faster.

"Onii-san! Onii-san!"

She stumbled in some bushes and would have fell flat on her face had it not been for a pair of hands catching her on time.

"Onii-san!" she repeated once again, lacing her arms around her big brother waist.

"Kyoko..." said the young boy hugging his little sister back, close to his heart.

_His precious Kyoko._

"Happy Birthday Onii-san!" she said with a wide smile. cheeks flushed from all the running.

"Thank you" he replied with his own, more charming than he knew, smile.

Kyoko watched her brother with sparkling eyes.

Her Onii-san was really beautiful. When he went out of the house, with the rays of sun illuminating his figure, his eyes, the same color of hazelnuts, always shined and seemed somewhat brighter. She stared at him as the wind blew his brown, messy, fluffy hair around and her smile widened.

Yes, when he was out of the house, here in their secret place, away from the village, he always looked even more beautiful than usual; heavenly.

She always found him more good looking than any other boy or girl the village.

If the Gods were not monsters, she was sure they looked like her Onii-san.

"I'm happy you've come to see me but... What are you doing here at this hour? didn't you have lessons with Sensei this morning?"

Kyoko small hands tightened around the fabric of her brother kimono at the mention of their private teacher and the boy frowned.

"...Did something happen?"

after a small moment of silence, Kyoko started trembling, sniffs and hiccups filled the air and the young man grabbed her shoulder tightly.

With his free hand he raised her face and he darkened as tears fell from her eyes.

"Tsuna-nii..." she said, sniffing a couple of times, fear evident in her round, honey eyes. "Sensei... Sensei said that I'm really cute and ... one day I might be chosen as a bride for the Heaven God!" with this said, she burst out crying, clutching on his brother for dear life, like she was afraid that if she let go, someone will come to take her to the place where Heaven and Earth met, to be sent away to the God.

Tsuna knew there was something wrong the moment she didn't call him: Onii-san, but... he never thought it would be about this. The Heaven God Brides.

_The Bride_.

That was what people called the most beautiful girl that got chosen during drought periods to be shipped off the gods. They dolled them up, dressed them like brides and took them to the Heaven God temple to be offered in exchange for rain.

_The Bride_... that was just a name they used because it sounded less tragic and barbaric than calling them: _The Sacrifice_.

"You don't need to worry Kyoko" he said, hugging her tightly. An hand caressing her long, silky, blond hair.

* * *

"_Back then, I was really naive..._"

* * *

"Sensei is an idiot. I'm sure they won't choose you". Kyoko sniffled again and raised her head slightly to look at her big brother in the eyes.

"Really?"

"Yup!" said Tsuna with a wide smile.

Kyoko smiled.

* * *

_"I really thought no one would ever choose her. _

_I thought no drought would come again anytime soon._

_That no one would ever even think of suggesting her as a possible Bride"._

* * *

"Also, do you think Mother and Father would ever allow it ?" he poked her cheeks and Kyoko giggled. Only a few teardrops left on the corner of her eyes.

"No they wouldn't" she said with a happy smile.

* * *

_"I thought that in case it ever were to really happen... Mother and Father would protect her"._

* * *

"Onii-san" A young woman stood at the doorstep of her brother room with lucid eyes and a sorrowful expression on her face.

She looked beautiful. Her shiny orange hair were so long that they reached the ground, just like those of every other girl in the village. Her complexion was fair like his brothers.

Tsuna looked at her, a foreboding feeling infecting his heart like a poison.

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It had not rained for months.

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"_No_" he thought.

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Her honey colored eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

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"_No it can't be..."_

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"Onii-san ..."

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"_No please, don't say it!"_

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"They... they choose me to be The Heaven God Bride".

"NO" he screamed angrily, banging his hands on the desk he had been sitting at just a moment ago.

Tears started flowing freely from Kyoko's eyes. Realization of what being a Bride of Ieyasu meant, falling heavily on her.

_She was going to die._

Her brother stormed past her, the long, small portion of hair she had convinced him to grow, today free of any hair tie, swished near her face as he left her alone in his room. No doubt going to ask their father how all of this happened.

She had wanted to say something. To stop him. To say that it wasn't they're father fault and not mother's either.

But she couldn't.

Only one thought echoing painfully in her mind: _"I'm going to die"._

* * *

_"I thought they would do something. Anything so that their youngest daughter did not get sent to her death at age fifteen._

_But they did nothing."_

* * *

_I' m sorry Tsunayoshi._

That was all his father had been able to say. His mother had just cried.

_I'm sorry Tsunayoshi._

Sorry... what was fathers _sorry_, and mother tears useful for?

Sorry solved nothing! Tears solved nothing!

Kyoko was still the new Bride of the Heaven God. She was going to die and no one seemed to want to help him save her.

Then again, who would?

The villagers were just relived that it wasn't their daughter the one to be sent to death and they didn't give a damn if a fifteen years old girl died as long as it wasn't them dying.

They were starving, and they needed the rain to bring back to life the arid earth.

His father, despite his position as mayor, could not go against the council will in this matter.

They might grow rebellious if a girl less beautiful than Kyoko got sent, afraid that the God would get angry, and the people who had lost their daughters in the past would surely get resentful if the child of the mayor got special treatment just because of who she was born from.

He started banging his forehead slowly against the wood wall of the corridor he had leaned on to cool off some of his anger after the shouting session with his parents.

A part of him understood why no one wanted to help.

Humans were like that.

He too would have done nothing had it not been Kyoko the chosen one.

Still... _it_ _was Kyoko_.

"Onii-san..."

He stopped hitting the wall with his forehead and turned around to see Kyoko looking at him from the doorway of his room. She had stopped crying.

His sister gestured for him to come close and he did.

She dragged him through his room and opened the other door, the one that took to the corridor that opened on the inner garden.

The arid piece of earth greeted them and Kyoko made him sit next to her on the wood corridor.

She hugged his left arm and let her head rest on his shoulder.

"Onii-san, can you sing a song for me?"

Tsuna looked at her and saw her hopeful face.

One of the main reasons why he loved his sister so dearly was because she had always appreciated him more than anyone else.

In the village, he was always shunned by their peers for one reason or another.

The boys did not found him manly because he had slim figure (very different from their bodies used to heavy lifting and such) and his only real talent was singing (not a very manly thing either in their opinion).

The girls heated him for mostly the same reasons. From what Kyoko said (and what he himself had come to realize while growing up), they were actually jealous of his beautiful appearance (_more beautiful than most of theirs_, had said Kyoko once, but he wasn't very sure about that...), his gorgeous voice, and also of the way he walked around ( very straight -_that was all because of the etiquette lessons mother forced on him, really_\- and elegant, had also said Kyoko with sparkly eyes... but he had high doubts about the _elegant_ part. He was twenty but he still tripped over nothing at times...).

Kyoko had been the only one to never isolate him out of jealousy or... _lack of manliness_... and he loved her a lot for that.

She was such a kind person...

He started singing Kyoko favorite song.

It was a happy, optimistic song.

Just like her.

The dark future awaiting her... she did not deserve it.

* * *

"_That day I made a decision. A very important one that would have changed my life and Kyoko's forever."_

* * *

He rethread not to think that this was most likely the last time he would sing for her.

But...

_"Yes..."_ he thought, _"this will be the last time I'll sing for her... she won't be able to hear my singing anymore..."_

He took a look at his sister and as the song ended he let his head rest on hers, his decision finally taken. There had been a thought on his head since he left fathers chambers. A plan that initially had seemed crazy; but if he really was oh so beautiful to be envied by other girls... then maybe It would function.

_"Because... I'll be the one who'll disappear"._

* * *

_"The next day, I exposed my plan to my father and the council in a very... particular way..."_

* * *

For the whole morning, Iemitsu had been planning with the council all the details for the offering with a heavy heart.

Kyoko... he was helping planning the details of his little girl death.

Nana had closed herself in their rooms, refusing to take part in anything related to the ceremony.

Ah, if only he could do that too.

But he was the Major, the patriarch of the Sawada household, he couldn't not take part.

His daughter, tomorrow, would be going to her death, and Tsunayoshi probably hated him now.

Life was so unfair.

The Brides... no one knew what really happened to them... they had no idea if Ieyasu was really the monstrous being they had sculpted in his temple or something different. But of one thing they were sure.

_No Bride had ever came back._

He had been staring at his daughter... wedding dress... (a white and orange Kimono with red, pink and golden embroidery) when he received the biggest shock of his life.

"Father..."

There in the doorway, a girl with long brown hair stood. Straight posture, pale face and lips tinted in blood red; kind hazelnut eyes rimmed with black were staring at him.

Those eyes...

She was beautiful.

The most beautiful young girl he had ever seen in Namimori (after his precious Nana, of course) and... SHE WAS HIS **SON**!?

"Tsuna...yoshi...?" whispered the man in disbelief. The Council people in the room, turned their wide eyes away from the girl to gape at the Mayor, utterly shocked.

"This is... your son?"

"Y- yes?!" answered Iemitsu with eyes wide as saucers.

"What is the meaning of this Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was to come.

"Father... I ask to take Kyoko's place as Bride of the Heaven God."

After a moment of silence, chaos erupted.

"Son, have you gone mad?!"

"Take Kyoko's place?! do you realize what you are asking boy?"

"We can't send you!"

"Why not?" he asked suddenly, making the room fall into silence again.

"Because you are a boy!" said the same man that had spoken before, like the answer was obvious.

"And so? The Shaman had said: The most beautiful one, not: the most beautiful girl. She didn't set a specific gender!"

Stunned silence fell like a cover on the room. They looked like they had realized that detail only now.

"But the villagers... they are used to girls getting sent... they knew that they function... they wouldn't accept us sending a man!"

"There is no need for them to know yet" bit back Tsuna with a determinate face. "That is the reason why I presented myself like this today. I have no problems dressing up as a girl to keep the villagers serene. I'll put on the wedding dress destined to my sister and let myself be sent to the realm of Gods."

He looked at each of them with an expression that clearly stated that he was not backing down from this.

"I think we all agree that with some make-up and a wig I can easily pass for a girl. A beautiful girl." He said, a tad bit embarrassed for the kind of narcissistic statement. "You'll keep Kyoko hidden, after the day of my departure, rain will fall, the villagers will feel calmer, everything will be fine again and you'll be able to tell them. It's only the rain that they want. I doubt they would care if it was me and not her to be sent as long as rain falls".

The people in the room watched him in contemplative silence. Some were awed by his bravery, others felt sorry, and his father was horrified.

Iemitsu had wanted to say something, anything that could make his son change his mind... but that look on his face... he knew it.

No matter what he said, Tsunayoshi would have not changed his mind.

"Fine..." he muttered in defeat as the whole room turned on his direction, stunned. "We'll do as you wish".

Tsunayoshi smiled and his heart clenched.

"Thank you father".

* * *

_"I never regretted my decision even once. As long as Kyoko was safe, I was happy"_

* * *

It was beautiful and it was most likely the last thing he would ever wear.

And it was a _woman_ kimono.

_"Ugh..."_

Tsuna scowled at the silky, white fabric in his hands as he proceeded to put it on his bare skin. Looking at his reflection on the full-length mirror in front of him, his scowl eased as he watched the hunched form of his mother pinning every part of the kimono in place with trembling hands.

Kyoko was not here, Father had told him that once he explained her of the switch, they had to trap her in a room once she threatened to reveal of their plan to the rest of the villagers before he was sacrificed.

He felt a pang of affection for her, sweet, obedient Kyoko, had gone as far as _threatening_ their Father and the village Council to reveal everything if they sent him on her place.

Thoughts of Kyoko crying her heart out in a locked room lingered on his head as his attention snapped back to their Mother the moment he heard her sniff.

In the end, Nana seemed to have accepted the fact that no matter how long she barricaded herself in a room or prayed for a miracle, today she was going to lose one of her children and wanted to be with the chosen one as long as she could before the Gods took him away from her.

"You know Tsu-kun, I always dreamed of the day I would help my daughter put on her wedding dress... I had never expected that I would put it on my son though..." she finished with a watery smile, in a clear try to ease the tension with some humor.

Tsuna blushed faintly, but mustered up a strained smile to ease her. He had never thought he would put on a wedding dress _either._

He stilled as his Mother put the wig on his head and fingered it with practiced hands to make it blend nicely with his original hair.

Tsuna looked at himself in the mirror; his face covered in makeup, eyes rimmed with black, some red and orange eye shadow covered his lids, small glittering stones had been placed on the skin, forming small patterns around his eyes while his lips had been tinted the same shade of red he had put on the day he showed up in his Father office with his proposal. It reminded him of blood.

A knock on the door made his Mother froze in the process of putting his veil on and Tsuna trembled.

It was time to go.

"J-Just a moment" he heard his mother stutter with a shrilly voice.

Despite her hands shaking like mad, Nana somehow managed to pin the veil in place. Tsuna blinked as he saw his Mother kneel in front of him with a watery smile and lucid eyes. For a long moment they simply stared at each other and stopped only when a second knock brought them back to reality.

Releasing a shuddering breath, Nana leaned forward and placed a kiss on top of Tsuna forehead before draping the front, semi-transparent part of the veil over the upper half of his face.

"We are coming" he heard his Mother say as they both stood up.

As they reached the door, Tsuna stopped just a second to give Nana a brief but strong hug as the woman on that had been waiting for them to come out instructed him to follow her.

"See you Mother".

Nana sniffed loudly as her whole body trembled.

"I Love you" she said simply as her oldest child slipped away from her hands.

She watched him and the woman calmly walk away and it was only after they were out of her sight that she let out a shaky breath she had not realized she had been holding in before slumping on her knees and let the tears flow freely, her hiccups and agonized moans were the only sounds echoing in the now empty hallway.

* * *

_"When we reached the Heaven God temple, differently from what I had first thought, fear was not what I felt when I walked inside the sacred place._

_All I felt in that moment was acceptance._

_Acceptance mixed with some sort of resignation._

_But I was also happy."_

* * *

He could hear the soft murmurs and the eyes of the people pinned on him as he walked up the four steps that separated him from the place where heaven and earth met: a gigantic mirror-like surface placed on the floor that reflected the sky above.

The temple of the heaven god did not have a roof exactly for that reason. The mirror under his feet had been placed there by the god himself to create a point on earth where people could somehow symbolically step foot in his domain.

Tsuna let his eyes roam around the room and he felt a touch of resentfulness as not a soul on the room looked particularly sad for the departure of one of their kind.

They didn't care. The rain was the only thing their starved bodies and minds wanted. No one gave a damn about his life but he couldn't bring himself to hate them.

He stepped on the mirror-like surface and he was only slightly surprised when, despite the shoes, he could feel the temperature it emitted.

It was cold _-just like the God that put it there-_ he remembered the village elders say once to him and his peers when they were still only curious little kids that liked stories.

_"I still like stories_.." he thought absentmindedly as the priestess of the temple, Uni, chanted her prayer.

_"Too bad mine is gonna end soon..."_

Just as he thought that, he saw Uni rise her head up and look at him with an oddly knowing and piercing gaze for a child her age; a gaze that seemed to say: _Not just yet_.

For a moment he believed her.

But then, wind started blowing, the ground slowly began to slip away under his feet, and everything lost importance.

Light coming out of the mirror surface -_that had no surface anymore_\- irradiated the temple and for a frozen moment, as he remained suspend in air, his eyes met Kyoko's, half hidden by a long cloak with a hood she had put on, probably to hide herself. So she had managed to convince their father to at least let her come to this funeral camouflaged as a marriage?

His father and mother where beside her but he had eyes only for his beloved sister. She was crying.

_"No need to cry my cute little sister, we can't do anything about this, no tears or prayers will change reality and you know why too, right?"_

He smiled at her as his body feel down, into the reflected sky.

* * *

_"The Gods are cruel."_

* * *

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**Author corner:**

Here I am, posting a new fan fiction even if I have yet to finish my two longs çAç

But I couldn't resist I just had to write this *0*.

This story was inspired by a Korean manga. The bride of the water god. The basic story is similar: girl (boy in this case) gets sacrificed to a god every time there is a drought. But that's where the similarities end. The story is going to be different (I hate those stories that are basically a copy-and-paste of a manga. I'm ok with taking inspiration and some ideas for creating a story, but the happenings must be different from the manga/movie you that inspired you).

I hope you'll like this new story and if there is someone here that is reading my other ongoing stories I have news for you: _Tomorrow I'm posting chapter 3 of Spirit Talker ;D_

_See ya next chapter *3*_


	2. There where heaven lives

**I L-I-V-E **

After months I'm finally updating something again :'D Life recently has been quite busy, I found a new job and had to learn, get used to it and the new colleagues, I had zero inspiration for stories and always got distracted whenever I tried to type something è ^ é*.

But yestreday I found this amazing program: _Zen writer_. It's great writing on that! when you open it the window is

desktop sized so there is no possibility of getting distracted by internet or other things, there is just you and the page. I wrote 5 pages yestreday in three hours! **5 PAGES** **IN 3 HOURS!** it had never happened to me before! usually if I can write two pages in an evening it's already a miracle x'D hopefully this program will help me with "Spirit talker" too ;3;

Now, enjoy chapter two and see you at the bottom of the page!

► 2: - There Where Heaven Lives

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* * *

_" Point is, you never know what the truth is..."_

* * *

Tsuna had expected many things from his fall, but he still stared open mouthed as he suddenly found himself meters and meters away from the ground. After the first seconds of shock, he actually realized for good just how high up he was and he screeched as gravity pulled him down ridiculously fast.

"I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm gonna diiiieee".

He wasn't sure how long he kept repeating those words but at some point, the wind currents around him changed and his fall stopped abruptly.

He was still alive...?!

"Wha.."

A sudden scream made him flinch.

"SHUT UP, BASTRAD!"

Shut up? he had not said a word ... screeching aside.

"Maa maa Hayato, keep concentrated or you'll drop her"

"I DON'T NEED YOU TELL ME THAT! AND DON'T CALL ME HAYATO!"

There were people in this place?

Tsuna opened his eyes slowly and he had barely the time to see two figures (one with black hair, the other with... silver hair?!)before whatever was keeping him up disappeared and water engulfed him.

He heard some other screaming up on the surface and despite the massive amount of cloth he was wearing he somehow managed to go back above.

He spluttered, gasping for air as he fought to stay up. The hair and veil covering his face did not help.

"Shit" muttered the same screaming person of before as a nervous laughter filled the air and the water surrounding him suddenly brought him back in the air before promptly dropping him in the arms of one of the bickering guys.

"Maa maa, You alright miss?"

Tsuna raised his head in the direction where he thought the voice was coming but he saw nothing. His hair and the blasted veil were blocking his vision.

"ah ... um..."

Laughter filled the hair again; an hand swept the wet fabric and strands away from his face and finally, Tsuna could see who it was that had saved him.

It was the guy with the short, messy black hair. He was smiling kindly at him and for some reason, Tsuna felt much of his anxiety evaporate in an instant.

"Yes, thanks".

He saw the boy hazel eyes widen slightly, a surprised expression on his face. Tsuna mentally swore.

He had talked with his normal voice.

"T-thanks for saving me" he added lamely with the most girly voice he could make.

For a moment the boy said nothing, and when his lips parted in a big goofy smile, Tsuna started breathing again.

"No need to thank me! my name is Takeshi, you are..?"

"Tsunayo-ko!" Now he really wanted to punch himself. First he spoke with his normal voice, then he almost said his real, male name. It was like he was asking to get caught!

But Takeshi didn't seem to catch his slip up as he simply kept on smiling. Without knowing why, Tsuna blushed.

"Oi! what are you doing holding the woman of Gio-Ieyasu-sama like that?"

_Ieyasu._

Hearing that name made Tsuna heart skip a beat as reality came back full force.

He was in the realm of the gods. In the hands of two strangers that had probably been waiting for him to fall down so they could take him to their king. The sky. Ieyasu.

Suddenly tense as a violin string, Tsuna jumped up from his leaning position on Takeshi. As he started looking frantically around, he noticed with horror that the boat had been moving since he was throw on it by the waters and was only a few meters away from a dock.

"What are you getting so agitated over now, woman?! wait, maybe you're excited to meet Ieyasu-sama? well you should be, he is awesome!" there were sparkles in the silver haired guy as he talked about Tsuna's probable soon-to-be-murderer.

_"More than excited, I kinda feel like puking"._ He would have liked to tell him, but that probably would have not been a good idea. Silver-hair seemed to literally worship the king of heaven.

" But don't get your hopes up! a human whore like you is not worthy of him!"

_Whor-_

"I'm not a whore!" exclaimed Tsuna in a burst of braveness. H-how dare this guy insult him like that? he didn't even know his real gender, much less the kind of person he was!

"Tch. like hell you aren't, you humans are all the same!"

"Ahahah Hayato be nice..."

"Shut up you!"

Tsuna frowned and removed a stray strand of fake hair away from his face feeling incredibly pissed. He hated prejudiced people with passion and this Hayato seemed to have a big prejudice on humans.

He was so pissed that he barely noticed when they left the boat and set foot on solid ground.

"Ugh, we can't present her like this!" lamented the silver haired boy again looking at Tsuna from head to toe.

This time Tsuna had to agree with him and even Takeshi seemed to be of the same idea.

He was soaked to the bone. His hair (and wig) were all mussed up and wet. His kimono was dripping so much water that a puddle had started forming around his feet and he could literally _feel_ the makeup melt and leave black, red and orange, ugly patches on his face.

He touched one of his cheeks tentatively and wasn't surprised when he found his fingertips painted.

"Ugh."

"Maybe we should take her to the Moon Temple first? maybe Haru could give her one of her kimonos and clean her up." suggested Takeshi before being stomped down by his... friend? could they be called that?

"No we don't have time! the Moon Temple is too far and Ieyasu-sama has certainly felt her arrive. He is the one that opens the portal!"

The portal? Was he talking about the mirror on the heaven temple floor?

"Maybe we could try to sneak her inside her room before meeting Ieyasu-sama? it's inside the palace, we just need to pass unnoticed..." Tsuna could nearly see the gears working inside Hayato's head, trying to find the best ways to solve the problem without having the Heavens god discover that they had dropped his "bride" in the lake.

While Hayato mumbled to himself, Tsuna took some time to take a proper look at his surroundings.

The land of the Gods was incredibly beautiful. The buildings looked the same traditional japanese style he was used to with only some minor differences here and there. They were colorful and certainly more beautiful than anything he had saw in his world. Being the son of the major (the most powerful man in the village) he had lived in the most big and refined house in his hometown, but it's beauty paled compared to that of those here in this immortal land, especially when his eyes fell on the most majestic building he had ever seen.

That had to be Ieyasu palace. It was too beautiful and regal to belong to anyone else but the king of the gods.

"Oi, woman!"

"Tsuna!" he replied automatically when Hayato barked at him with that superior tone. He was no woman and he had a name! He was not going to let that guy treat him like that only because he was a mere mortal and he didn't like humans.

He had no idea were all that sudden rebelliousness had come out from. He was usually a pretty submissive and peaceful guy that rethread ignore mean comments instead of replying to them and start a fight ... what was it that made him act like that?

Thinking about it, he reached the conclusion that maybe it was just because Ieyasu was going to kill him in a few minutes anyway, so, even if Hayato killed him first for talking back, his destiny wouldn't change.

The silver haired boy looked ready to punch him and Takeshi seemed to have noticed it too if that hand gripping Hayato shoulder was anything to go by.

Silver-hair clicked his tongue and made an annoyed gesture that could easily be translated into something like : Move your ass. And that Tsuna did.

* * *

_"Walking to his death, with a broken mask and a broken heart._

_The boy looked up with a bitter smile,_

_wondering: is there a more humiliating way for a man to die, then to go without a fight?"_

* * *

The palace was as enormous as it had seemed to be from afar.

In his twenty years of life, Tsuna had never seen such a big and regal looking structure before and he was pretty sure he'll never see one as equally breathtaking as Ieyasu residence.

Hayato muttered curses snapped him out of his sightseeing. They were currently hiding behind some bushes constellated by weird orange and yellow flower he had never seen before, discussing a way to bypass the guards without them noticing.

Well, Tsuna wasn't exactly discussing anything... he was just listening to the two immortals arguing in front of him.

After a good five minutes of bickering the two decide to have Takeshi use: " Kojirou Sleepy chirp" as he called it (He had no idea what a 'Kojirou' was) and sneak in before it's effect run off.

Then they would hide him in Takeshi's room (Hayato refused to have a mortal in his own)and wait for the grumpy sliver-head as he robbed some clothes from his sister wardrobe (he had turned a sickly shade of green when he mentioned her. Tsuna already loved her just for the effect she had on that jerk ).

Finally starting the plan, Takeshi extended his arm forward, fingers in a strange position, like he was waiting for something to perch on them, and simply said: "Kojirou" before a little blue swallow appeared on his hand in a small burst of what looked like blue fire.

Tsuna stared wide eyes at the creature as it chirped happily at his master before flying off towards the guards, like it already knew what the boy wanted him to do.

Hypnotic chirps saturated the air and Tsuna too would have fallen asleep like the guards had it not been for Gokudera elbowing him harshly in the ribs.

Tsuna grunted shooting him an half-hearted glare (immediately answered by a menacing scowl) before stalking off after the black haired boy as he advanced toward the sleeping guards.

All three of them successfully passed through the golden gates and proceeded to run like they had death hunting them down.

"Gi- Ieyasu-sama will rat us out immediately!" whined Hayato as he violently opened what Tsuna believed to be Takeshi's room door, nearly breaking it, and pushed Tsuna and the black haired immortal inside.

Promptly, Tsuna landed square on the floor, and thankfully had enough good sense to put a hand on the wig as soon as he felt it sliding off.

"You two stay here. I'll be as fast as I can"

with that, the silver haired boy was gone.

Tsuna sighed and let himself fall backwards, the wig was so thick he didn't even feel pain when his head hit the hard wooden floor.

"Hahah feeling better?"

_No,_ he thought.

"Yes" he said instead. Eyes closed as he tried to regulate his breathing.

Takeshi didn't say anything. A couple of seconds later, he felt the door open and close making his eyes snap open.

He looked around the room, the black haired guy was nowhere to be seen.

_"Did he leave too?"_ thought Tsuna basking in the sudden solitude.

He could finally breathe.

No grumpy or ever-cheerful immortals dragging him left and right. Just him and his mind.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and when he opened them again he would have screamed his lungs out had it not been for the hand that firmly kept his mouth covered.

The first thing he registered when he calmed down a bit, was a pair of eyes with the most captivating irises he had ever seen.

Orbs the color of the sky at twilight bore into his pathetically common hazel ones and he swore he could have stared at that incredible shade of orange forever had it not been for the golden strands randomly falling on them, reminding him that that he was not watching the sky but someone eyes.

A stranger eyes, whom was currently invading his personal space and touching him.

Startled at the realization, Tsuna flinched back, trying to get away. The blond person let him, seemingly not annoyed by it.

"W-who are you?" and where were Gokudera and Takeshi?!

The blond haired man simply inclined his head a bit on the left, looking at him up and down, like he was inspecting him.

Tsuna didn't move and took the chance to get a better look at his ... visitor.

The man's eyes were not the only breathtaking thing he had. His overall appearance was absurdly beautiful. Straight nose, lean and fit physique, hair the same color of the golden grain his fellow villagers had been dreaming off in the last months... all traits that where almost impossible to find in just one human being.

Then again, _no one in that place was human but him._

Despite his average stature (he wasn't much taller than Tsuna, only a couple of inches or so) he had this regal hair about himself that made the healthy complexion and wild hair look attractive when on some average person they would have looked just messy and possibly make their owner uglier than he really was.

Suddenly, Tsuna noticed that the blond stranger had gotten closer, invading his personal space again. He tensed as one of his arms circled his lower back and made him stumble forward a couple of steps until their chests where touching.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Tsuna tried to get out of the grasp only to realize with horror that his limbs were not responding him. _He couldn't move._

The silent stranger hand rose until it reached his face and cupped part of it as his thumb run across the right cheek, removing some of the smeared makeup.

Tsuna watched, silently screaming in his head for his legs to just move, as the man looked at his dirtied finger and then at him again. Moments later, the blond haired guy put his hand horizontally on his forehead and dragged it downwards like he was sweeping something from a surface.

When the hand disappeared, his face felt much less stickier than before. Had his makeup been removed with some kind of magic trick immortals could use?

The man stared longer this time and Tsuna could feel his face literally burn under that stare that seemed to be trying to see right into his soul. He would have already adverted his eyes if only he could have been able to do something more than blink them.

He seriously started losing it when that same hand that had freed him from the cosmetics reached up again and in two swift movements removed his heavy wig.

_Shit._

He had been discovered. He was screwed. Gokudera was going to kill him.

The stranger stared intently at his true looks, his eyes widening just for a second, while the fingers of that damned hand that had ruined everything slowly glided through that fluffy bird nest that were his hair.

Then the man smiled and Tsuna felt his heart thump against his ribcage violently.

_Oh Gods..._

He was pretty sure that by now his face had become an embarrassingly crimson color but it all faded to white when the blond immortal spoke.

"Ieyasu."

_.. what?_

"My name is Ieyasu. I am the Heavens God" he said, still sporting that same satisfied smile that he was wearing seconds ago, after his wig fell off.

"And you are my bride".

* * *

_"...How does the truth feel when you see you painted an angel as a beast? "_

* * *

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**Foramen corner:**

Maybe some of you are wondering what those phrases between the lines are, well, in chapter one they were Tsuna's thoughts but for the rest of the fic I want to put those in like quotes related to the happenings in the chapter or some kind of narrative speaking (I just have a thing for this kind of stuff) hope you like it even if they don't always rhyme xD (because I like them a lot *3*).

Giotto makes his appearance and now the difficult part starts. His character is quite complicated to write in this story and at times I am afraid I might not manage to transmit you an understanding of his mentality and feels like I would like to.

You'll see in the chapters to come why I'm saying this ;3

_*If you didn't notice, the first phrase of the chapter: "Point is you never know etc.." is connected to the last one*_

*waves and leaves*


	3. Can you?

**►3: - Can you?**

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* * *

_"Where does the truth lies?"_

* * *

Tsuna stared. Hard. So hard that he didn't even notice he could feel his muscles again, three fundamental questions were repeating themselves in his head like a broken record.

_What… how… __**why**__…_

He had no answer for any of those and he was too afraid to ask them to the … person? _Being_? Right in front of him, that_, _he noticed suddenly_, had yet to let him go._

Before he could release the girlish sound that was building up in his throat, a voice much louder than his broke the silence.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE SWORD-FREAK?"

Ieyasu turned his face away, towards the door, and Tsuna felt air fill his lungs once again. He had stopped breathing?! _When!?_

"Oh? Hayato? Wha-…. _Oooh_". He almost winced sympathetically at hearing Takeshi cheerful voice drop down to a low murmur as realization hit him.

He dared sneaking a glance at Ieyasu and blushed delicately when he saw him smirking almost playfully at the door.

Well, now he knew why Takeshi had left so suddenly and without telling him anything, _he himself did not knew he had left._

"…what happened?" if the dread he heard in Gokudera's tone was anything to go by, the other immortal had understood too.

The shuffling of feet was the only sound that preceded the slow opening of the door, before an emerald eye peeked inside with caution. As soon as it settled on the blond haired figure the pupil shrunk and what was visible of the silver haired immortal face turned into a sickly shade of blue.

"... Hayato…" said softly the heavens god as the door opened fully. Despite the tranquil tone, Hayato flinched like he had been screamed at, while Tsuna watched, almost fascinated by the docile attitude of the fiery immortal.

It didn't fit him at all.

But his contemplation ended pretty fast when suddenly, Gokudera crashed on the floor in an extremely exaggerated bow, knocking quite harshly his head on the wooden floor as he screamed: "I'M DEEPLY SORRY IEYASU-SAMA."

Tsuna's brows shot up to his hairline as the silver haired boy blurted out a long series of apologies while trying to put as much blame as possible on Takeshi.

...Too bad it was mostly his fault.

" Hayato…"

"I told him it was a dumb idea, but NO, he said we could get away with it, but I know nothing can escape your sight.."

"Hayato.."

"He convinced me, but I swear we had no ill intentions..:"

"**Hayato**".

Silence immediately descended upon the room as Ieyasu used a more commanding tone. Tsuna shot him a side way glance, barely long enough to see the light, annoyed frown scrunching up the god face ,before he had to look away as said god eyes turned to him.

"This is… most certainly, unexpected…" said the man keeping his eyes trained on Tsuna that stood as still as possible, trying not to squirm away as he felt Ieyasu fingers tread through his hair lightly.

" To think they would dare to try to trick me and seriously believe there would be no consequences…"

Tsuna became rigid as his eyes turned automatically to look at the god face.

That hand on his hair seemed to weight a ton now.

"What?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, completely ignoring the sound of Hayato rising his head to look at them inquisitively and the shock showing on his face as he took in Tsuna appearance.

_"__What the fuck…?!"_thought the boy incredulous.

"You really believed I would fall for it?" asked the god, eyebrows furrowing at the possibility of seriously being thought to be so little insightful by a human.

Tsuna didn't answer.

"I've had plenty of brides before you, boy. I consider myself to be quite good at discerning a person gender, and for as pretty as you are, you're clearly not a girl" he concluded as he tapped first his chest, then his abdomen and then his…

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!'" screeched a furiously blushing Tsuna as he instinctively swatted away the god hand from his lower regions.

Ieyasu looked from his abused hand to Tsuna and back again, examining le light red tint already fading from his skin like it was the most incredible thing he had ever seen.

Hayato screamed indignantly in the background, promptly silence by Takeshi, whom had opted to simply watch silently from the sideline, not daring to leave without being dismissed.

After a long moment of tense silence, the one thing Tsuna had never expected to happen, happened.

_Ieyasu laughed._

A full-blown laugh, with tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, red cheeks, crinkled eyes and everything.

Instantly, Tsuna, turned a deeper shade of red than he already was, and not from embarrassment or anger.

As the god finished laughing, he spoke again:

" You're more feisty than I thought. _I like you_…"

Tsuna sputtered incoherently and the man inched closer to him, opening his mouth soon after.

"So, I hope you won't mind me keeping the rain from falling for another couple of months. I have no qualms in receiving a man instead of a woman, I never set a gender after all, but for as interesting as you are, like I already said, I do not appreciate being tricked" finished Ieyasu stepping away, like the conversation was over.

Tsuna turned as white as the first snow of winter at that.

"Hayato, Takeshi, take him to his room, I'll tell the fairies to change his wardrobe". Instructed the Heavens god as he inched closer to the door, with each step getting further and further away from the shocked boy.

No rain.

The village would know of the crazy plan his father approved.

_Kyoko._

"**WAIT**".

Screamed Tsuna grabbing the tail of the god robes, stopping him just a moment before he opened the door.

"Please don't…" whispered Tsuna, his head hunched down in submission as his fists tightened on the rich fabric.

"This… I did not dress as a woman to trick _you_!"

"Then who?" asked the god in a calm tone.

"The villagers."

Ieyasu head tilted slightly.

" The villagers? Didn't they conspire with you?"

_As if. _

"Only the heads knew, It was my idea to do this… they always thought you wanted girls simply because you asked for a "bride", they never even took in consideration the possibility that you could be fine with man too. So I suggested me to be sent dressed as a girl only to appease the villagers minds. Had they knew of me they would have riot and forced the heads to send a girl, too afraid to try with a different gender".

"So you are saying the masquerade was a facade to keep the village people serene?"

"yes" answered Tsuna looking at the god straight in the eyes, without turning away, trying to convey as much sincerity as he could in both his voice and his eyes.

The silence in the room was so thick that Takeshi could almost feel it weighting the air.

"…I still don't understand why you offered to do something like this though. Why not let them send the chosen woman like always?"

Tsuna eyes dropped downwards as Kyoko face came to mind.

"Because…"

_Because that wasn't just any woman._

"That woman is my sister".

For a long minute, nothing could be heard beside Tsuna slightly labored breathing, anxiety was eating up every corner of his being. It couldn't end like this; he had sacrificed his life, _his freedom _, so that his sister and family could live serenely in the human world, he could not -_would not_**-** allow a misunderstanding to destroy everything.

"So you came here to spare your sister from having to become my bride?"

Tsuna nodded quickly, never rising his eyes high enough to look at the god ones, the grip on his clothes tightening a fraction more.

"I see".

With a small tug, the piece of clothing he was holding slipped from his fingers, he raised his head just in time to see it disappear behind the opened door together with his owner.

Eyes wide, Tsuna run forward, but as soon as he exited the room, nothing but a empty corridor greeted him.

_No._

"W-where did he go?"

He needed to know what he wanted to do about the drought, _he needed to know._

A warm hand gripped his left shoulder making him jump; he had forgotten about the other two immortals.

"Tsuna…"

"…Takeshi" he shook his head as he felt his stomach knot and the urge to cry rising from deep within, he was not going to cry, not now, not where they could see him.

Face uncharacteristically serious, the black haired boy gently led Tsuna along the corridor and various other ones, stopping only when he reached a certain door.

"This is your room" he said, guiding the mortal inside the one room of the palace that would belong to him only from now on. One look at Tsuna face made him sigh. Speaking was useless, he was not listening to a word.

Shoulders dropping, Takeshi gripped the boy shoulder in a comforting manner.

He opened his mouth to tell him that everything would be fine, that his king would change his mind but not a sound came out.

Ieyasu moods often changed as quickly as mountain weather. One moment it was sunny, the next, rain drenched the earth.

One moment he was calm and understanding, the next he raged and coldly judged.

He sure hoped for the humans that his king would change his mind.

* * *

_"Is it in his words? in his eyes?_

_how do you discern a truth from a lie?"_

* * *

A man with red hair watched the slouched figure of his king as he gazed out of the window of his room, his eyes staring intently downwards , beyond the clouds and the peak of the thirsty trees that littered the earth where humankind lived.

They had been living in the same palace for years, centuries even; out of all the Gods he was the closest to him, and yet there were still times in which he could not understand what was going on in his king head.

This was one of those times.

The bride had arrived, he had felt the mortal presence as soon as she passed through the palace doors, so he had waited for the king in his room as Hayato and Takeshi brought her to his presence.

Usually, none of them managed to spark much of a reaction from him, most of them were terrified of him before even meeting him and couldn't even look at him in the eye.

It made him wonder what the Humans thought of them.

Yet, today, something seemed slightly different.

There was a crease on the king forehead, his eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, like he was thinking very hard on something that put him in sour mood.

That was strange. He barely ever showed any kind of emotion, his face was stoic most of the time, it was rare for him to smile widely, laugh out loud or for his face to scrunch up in fury or sadness.

By simply looking at him, one would have said the king could not feel anything, like a block of granite, but they, the people that lived with him in the palace knew he felt. He loved them all, he just had very complicated way of showing it.

" I met the bride G..."

_Of course._

"And?"

"He is ... interesting".

Wait a moment...

"**...He?!**"

"Yes, it's a man this time"

G blinked a couple of times at the revelation. They sent a man?

"Well this is... a first"

The king nodded, never taking his eyes away from the dying village the boy had come from.

"He was dressed as a girl though".

"... why?" what were those humans doing?

"The villagers, apparently, are convinced I enjoy girls only, so the boy had to dress himself as one to come here without a fuss. He did it to... _spare_ his sister form becoming my next bride."

It was now time for G to furrow his brows.

"_Spare_? did he say that?!"

"No" said the king shaking his head "I phrased it like that... but he did not deny it"

G mouth turned downwards at that. Becoming the king bride was an honor, and the boy thought of it like a punishment. It was true that none of them resisted much, but it was their own fault for displeasing the king.

"He seemed really desperate when I told him I would keep the rain for another month"

G eyes widened.

"You, ..._wait_-**what?!** _Giotto_! if you don' t let Asari make it rain the people will.."

" I know" said the king cutting his most trusted friend off.

"... Then what do you plan on doing?"

The king eyes narrowed as the boy desperate but earnest face flashed in front of him once again, obscuring for a moment his view on the decaying village below.

After a tense moment of silence, one of the king hands raised, and a small golden bowl filled with water floated towards him. He dipped one of his fingers in it and moved it in a clockwise motion. seconds later the face of a black haired man, eerily similar to Takeshi , appeared reflected in the bow.

"Asari..."

"Giotto?"

...

"Make it rain".

* * *

_"maybe you just need to trust what you feel inside"_

* * *

That night the Heaven God, known by most as Ieyasu, Giotto for his friends, went to visit his bride.

After giving permission to Asari to let the rain fall, he had passed almost all the rest of his day secretly watching the boy wallow in his own anxiety and fear, the more sadistic part of him had enjoyed being the sole spectator of the boy despair as he wandered up and down in his room thinking of nothing but his threat.

He could have alleviated his fears by telling him of his decision, but he thought the boy (_ what even was his name? he had forgot to ask_)kind of deserved to sink in his anguish a little bit more, because of the masquerade he had put on. Be it to keep peace in the populance or not, it had annoyed him.

As he stared at the sleeping figure, he couldn't help but recognize his beauty, he was by far one of the best looking brides he had received.

He thought back to the day happenings, to their meeting, and of how the boy had managed to shock him enough to make him laugh out loud in a way he very rarely did.

And it was just their first meeting.

"I wonder, can you?" he muttered absentmindedly as his hand swept aside the brown fringe; gently tucking some strands behind the man ear.

That question resurfaced each time one of those women arrived in his kingdom. He never got what he wanted from them but maybe... maybe this time it would be different? Could a change of gender give him what he so desired?

Slender fingers trailed down the sleeping male face, tracing his profile before resting for a second longer on the rosy lips.

"Can you make me feel love?"

* * *

_"perhaps your heart is right"_

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**Foramen corner:**

is this... is this an update?

omg, yes it is ;_;

I'm so sorry, I'm so late ç_ç

**this chapter "quote" all put together: **

_"Where does the truth lies? _

_in his words? in his eyes? _

_how do you discern a truth from a lie?_

_Maybe you just need to trust what you feel inside _

_Perhaps your heart is right"_


End file.
